


Faith (Lena has too little; Kara has too much)

by BloodInTheFields



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, but it also kind of is, idk just go with it, technically it's not f/f
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 09:00:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8706088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodInTheFields/pseuds/BloodInTheFields
Summary: in which Supergirl stops by Lena Luthor's loft after the crazy events of the day to thank her for saving everyone's ass in town. or, in which I take it upon myself to fix the glaring mistake of the writers.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've read different takes on that forgotten scene, and decided I'd write one too. I hope you'll like it. Check out my other Supercorp works if you want! Find me on tumblr at blood-inthefields.

The night sky was clear of any clouds and only a bright moon and some stars Lena couldn’t well discern adorned the dark blue celestial sphere. She sighed heavily as she leaned onto the balcony of her apartment and looked at the city lights below.

 

The events of the evening had taken a toll on her, had left her breathless and restless. Lena knew she’d made the right choice, she’d saved lives. But the price had been hers to pay nonetheless. She had lost yet another member of her fucked-up family.

 

Saving National City’s alien population wouldn’t change a thing concerning her reputation, she knew it. She hadn’t done it in hopes that it would, but Lena felt the sting of it anyway. She was invisible. She didn’t matter, and in the grand scheme of things, she surmised that National City wouldn’t miss her if she were to suddenly decide to pack up and leave.

 

The thought stayed with her for a long while, but Lena knew that no matter where she went on this planet, her last name would stick to her like a threatening shadow and people would never stop being wary of a Luthor.

 

She had hoped that Supergirl would be different, but the Kryptonian had given up on her all too easily when Lena had snapped at her earlier in the day. In her eyes, down by the docks, Lena had read fear and betrayal. The memory made her stomach churn.

 

She turned away from the sight below her and was about to get back inside her loft when a soft breeze accompanied by a sound she identified right away stopped her in her tracks. Without facing the intruder, Lena froze; a hand on the sliding door.

 

“I wasn’t expecting you,” she said, her tone devoid of any warmth.

“You should have. Did you really think I wouldn’t stop by, after what you did?”

“We really don’t need to talk about it, Supergirl.”

 

Lena felt movement behind her and even if she knew Supergirl was standing at least five feet behind her, she could swear she felt warmth emanating from her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. The air was a bit cold for this time of the year but Lena liked that. It reminded her of Lex and how they had played in the snow during a trip to the mountains when she was barely a teenager.

 

“We do. What you did tonight… Lena, you took a great risk out there. I didn’t know whose side you were on. What if I’d hurt you in an attempt to stop you?”

 

Lena faced her then, and let her eyes find Supergirl’s.

 

“But you didn’t. You let me turn that key. You froze.”

 

It sounded a lot like a reproach and Lena wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t one. Supergirl had hesitated, and if Lena hadn’t been on her side, that hesitation would have cost hundreds of aliens their lives. She wasn’t sure what to do with that knowledge.

 

“I had faith in you,” Kara said. “I don’t regret it.”

“What if you’d been wrong?” Lena challenged.

 

She took a step closer and lifted her chin up in defiance.

 

“What if you’d been wrong and I’d been working with my mother all along?”

“Then I would have hated myself for putting so much faith and trust in a Luthor. I would’ve learned my lesson the hard way. But you’re only a Luthor by name. You’re not like the rest of them.”

 

Supergirl was so earnest; Lena thought it was foolish. Maybe she was jaded, but her view of the world was much darker than the Kryptonian’s. Lena knew she was the very definition of morally grey and Supergirl saw her as far too white.

 

“I was raised as a Luthor, you know. The decision I made today, I did because I’m honest when I say I want to change our legacy in this world. But make no mistake: I’m still a part of that family.”

“Even if you sent you mother to prison?”

“Yes.”

“You could have told her to run. You didn’t have to call the police,” Kara pointed out.

 

Lena had nothing to answer to that. She nodded and stepped back inside her loft. Supergirl followed her, ignoring the glaring fact that Lena hadn’t invited her in. The room was spacious, elegantly furnished if perhaps a bit cold. Lena spent more time behind her desk anyway.

 

“Anything to drink,” Lena asked as she poured herself a glass of wine.

“No, thank you. Lena, I know that you’re not fine, you don’t have to pretend around me. Tonight was tough on you, and—”

“Don’t be patronizing. I’m a grown woman. That was hardly a difficult decision to make, my mother or the lives of innocent… beings.”

 

Supergirl stood by the kitchen island, watching as Lena downed her wine swiftly and set the glass down. There was a moment of silence, tense and filled with unspoken words. Lena wondered if Supergirl was ever going to say anything else of if she intended to just stand there forever. Just as she was about to ask that out loud, the other woman broke the silence.

 

“I wanted to thank you. That’s why I came here, initially. To say thank you, on behalf of all the aliens out there. I’m sorry that saving us came with such a price for you.”

“It’s alright. My mother and I weren’t close.”

 

It was the truth, and yet it oddly hurt to say it out loud. To acknowledge that her relationship with her mother was a failure, that she had failed to be enough for her. Just like she had failed Lex. Supergirl must have sensed the pain it caused her because she leaned forward to grab Lena’s hand over the kitchen island and squeezed it once, twice. Lena looked down at their joined hands. It felt good, somehow. It felt right, to have her by her side at this moment.

 

“You’re not alone, Lena Luthor. I know sometimes it can be hard to remember that, but you’re not alone. I’m on your side. People will come around, too. They just need more time to get used to the idea of, well, you.”

“Maybe.”

 

She wasn’t sure what else she was supposed to say, or how she was supposed to feel. Lena retracted her hand and walked to the couch where she sat. She didn’t expect Supergirl to imitate her.

 

“I’m exhausted,” she said in hopes that the alien would take the hint.

“You need to rest. Tonight was draining.”

 

Lena scoffed.

 

“I’m not the one who got my ass kicked by a cyborg and then flew after a rocket.”

“Well, every job has its downsides,” Supergirl replied with a half-smile. “But I meant emotionally.”

“Yes, well,” Lena sighed, “tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully I have no family I don’t know about and the murder attempts will stop.”

“If that were to happen again, I’ll be there. You said you’d hoped we could work together again in the future, right?”

 

For the first time this evening, Lena smiled. She nodded.

 

“I did.”

 

They looked at each other in silence.

 

“I should go,” Kara said, without making any move to actually do so.

“Stay,” Lena found herself saying.

 

The word had left her mouth before she could even realize it. Lena hated that it had made her sound vulnerable. Supergirl, on the other hand, seemed mildly surprised but not bothered by the request.

 

“I mean, you can stay a little longer if you don’t have anywhere else to be. Of course I understand if you have more pressing matters to attend, but I, uh, I actually don’t mind the company.”

 

She had, though, mere minutes before. But the prospect of being alone didn’t seem so appealing anymore. She saw the flash of hesitation on Supergirl’s face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

 

“Alright, I’ll stay for a bit. You should get some sleep.”

“I’ll try,” Lena sighed as she got up. “I’m going to change into something more comfortable and then go to bed. Help yourself to the fridge, or anything you’d like.”

 

When she reappeared in her oversized black shirt and boy shorts some time later, Supergirl was sitting in the kitchen, eating an apple. Lena noticed how her blue eyes raked over her body and then quickly looked away.

 

“My bed’s over there,” she said as she pointed toward the thick curtain on the other side of the spacious room. “I’m just going to try to get some sleep. If… well, if you want to stay—”

“Okay,” her guest acquiesced quietly.

 

Lena needn’t complete her offer. She smiled and turned around but stopped after a couple of steps.

 

“I’m sorry for calling you a liar. In my office. I just… Well I guess I just didn’t want to believe that my mother was… evil.”

 

She almost startled when she heard Supergirl’s voice right behind her:

 

“It’s okay. I understand not wanting to believe something like that.”

 

The Kryptonian waited until Lena was looking at her again to go on.

 

“My father… he was the one who created Medusa. Not to harm anyone intentionally but to protect Krypton from invaders. What I’m trying to say is, part of the blame falls on him too. If he hadn’t created the virus, your mother wouldn’t have acquired it.”

“Your father didn’t intend for it to be used for nefarious purposes.”

“No, but he intended for it to kill, too.”

 

Lena had nothing to say to that. Supergirl gestured in the direction of the bed.

 

“Go. Sleep.”

“Yes ma’am,” Lena joked.

 

She didn’t miss the blush on the blonde’s face before she walked away. Sleep was surprisingly quick to claim Lena, but of course it wasn’t going to be peaceful. Images of her mother, of Lex kept flashing in her mind. Their voices, distant echoes, spat out harsh words that Lena hoped she wouldn’t remember in the morning. She dreamed of dark paths and downfalls, of hatred and betrayals. She dreamed of death.

 

A particularly violent thought woke her up with a start. She couldn’t remember what it had been, yet it had felt real and her fast-beating heart was threatening to jump out of her chest.

 

“Miss Luthor?”

 

A shadow pulled back the curtain a little and Lena recognized Supergirl’s cape. She exhaled shakily and swallowed the lump in her throat.

 

“Yeah.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I… I had a nightmare.”

“Oh.”

 

A glance to her alarm clock told Lena it was way past the middle of the night. She frowned.

 

“You’re still here,” she stated; the question underlying.

“Do you mind,” Supergirl asked, without offering any explanation as to why she hadn’t left yet.

“No,” Lena replied tiredly. “Are you planning on staying?”

“I can, if you want me to.”

 

Lena nodded curtly. It wouldn’t do to show any more weaknesses in front of Supergirl, but she hadn’t anticipated the onslaught of conflicted feelings that would invade her, and being alone tonight was the last thing she wanted.

 

She was about to suggest the couch, but Supergirl sat on the edge of her bed and looked at her, as if to check if it was okay with her. Lena sighed and scooted over.

 

“If you’re going to stay here with me, you might as well just get in.”

“A Super getting in bed with a Luthor? I know a few people who’d have a heart attack at the mere thought,” Supergirl remarked breezily as she took off her cape and her boots and lay down next to Lena.

 

Lena held back her laughter but she couldn’t help the smile that broke on her face. She wondered why it didn’t feel awkward to have the superhero so close to her in such an intimate setting. She wondered if Supergirl was wondering the same thing.

 

“Don’t crush me in my sleep,” she murmured.

 

She didn’t need any light to know Supergirl was smiling next to her.

 

“Don’t murder me in my sleep,” the Kryptonian retorted.

“Deal. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Lena.”

 

And even if she was fairly sure sleep would escape her for the rest of the night, Lena closed her eyes.


End file.
